Lulling Gaia
by TK Wayne
Summary: What if Percy, Annabeth, Luke and Piper had been childhood friends from the start? And what if Gaia was not completely evil, but only awakening to 'purify' the increasingly corrupt humans? What could four friends do to save civilization, while keeping Mother Earth happy and sound asleep?
1. Prologue

Not for the first time, the gods were arguing. Zeus and Poseidon refused to see eye-to-eye on the matter at hand, and the other Olympians found it difficult not to take sides. Still grudging against her uncle, even the usually-wise Athena decided to support Zeus – not because she agreed with him, but for the sake of her pride. Only Hestia, the Lady of the Hearth, was not influenced by the two great brothers' petty squabble.

Looking into the flames, she got up and whispered in Apollo's ear. The god nodded his understanding, and before a destructive fight could break out, took out an ancient scroll and unrolled it. The writings of a language before the dawn of time glowed golden, and floated off the scroll. There was silence as the other Olympians' attention was riveted to the glowing sphere hovering above the scroll.

The sphere showed the Earth, and then rapidly zoomed in on two children playing in the beautiful, high-walled garden of an impressive house in San Francisco. One was a girl of Cherokee descent, with short choppy chocolate brown hair, wearing a denim dress. The other child, also a girl, has curly blonde hair, with a tan and athletic build. She was dressed in a sleeveless indigo shirt and matching Bermudas. The two children seemed to be about three or four years old…

The scene shifted: a posh car stopped in front of a large house, and a middle-aged Caucasian couple stepped out with a boy who bore absolutely no resemblance to them. The boy was aged about four, with jet-black hair that was a bit too long, bright sea green eyes, and scrawny limbs. He looked up at the house in mingled disbelief and curiosity, and then turned back to the couple. His face broke into an impish grin, and he ran up to the front door…

The scene shifted again: a sandy-haired boy of about eleven, with twinkling blue eyes and a mischievous grin, was playing alone in a sandbox with a wooden sword. He jabbed and struck the old garden gnomes lined up in front of him; a prancing ball of manic energy.

The sphere turned white, and then vanished in a mini-explosion of balls of multi-coloured lights. Silence fell upon them again. No one felt reassured knowing that the future was in the hands of the four children they had just observed.


	2. Chapter 1

Annabeth hardly noticed she had company. She was too engrossed in t_he architecture book she was reading,_ for her brain to properly register the sudden presence of her two friends: Piper and Percy.

Piper and Annabeth had been close friends since kindergarten, and their vastly different personalities complemented each other. Now aged ten, Piper had grown into a pretty adolescent (although she tried hard to downplay her appearance) with short choppy chocolate brown hair, which she cut unevenly with a pair of plastic scissors, with thin braided strands on the sides of her face, and eyes that changed like a kaleidoscope.

Annabeth had curly golden blonde hair, like a princess. She was tall, fit, and athletic. Her eyes were an intense shade of grey, with a distracted look as if she were thinking of a million things at once. She looked like a typical California girl only with a natural tan, and her calculating eyes completely ruined that impression.

Percy was a tall, considerably good-looking young man, the same age as Annabeth, with jet-black hair and sea-green eyes.

'Annabeth, I need your help with something,' whispered Percy.

Annabeth nodded without looking up from her book. She didn't look up at her friends until she had finished the paragraph she was on.

'English? Physics?' queued Annabeth.

'More like History,' said Piper.

'Mythology, to be more specific,' said Percy.

Annabeth's eyes brightened at the mention of Mythology, and she placed her novel back inside her schoolbag. 'What kind of Mythology?' she asked excitedly.

'If I'm not wrong, it's Greek,' answered Percy.

'If you're not wrong?' Annabeth asked sceptically.

'If you've got time, I could tell you the whole story,' suggested Percy. 'Piper's heard it already.'

Annabeth gave a slight shrug, and turned her chair around to face her two friends. Recalling the dream that had been on his mind all day, Percy took a deep breath and retold what he had dreamt:

'I was in the dark – like everything was pitch-black. I couldn't feel the ground under my feet. And all these giants were sitting up on high chairs in a semicircle in front of me. They were all dressed in – I _think _they were dresses in chitons. They were all glowing, but there were two of them who were brighter than the rest; one glowed silver and the other glowed gold.

'This bearded guy who looked like the leader told me about some Mother awakening from a millennia-old slumber. The they showed me some hologram kind of thing, of some really powerful-looking woman who was asleep behind this layer of shifting dirt – now don't ask _me _how she manages to look powerful in her sleep, but she just does.

'Then this other bearded guy told me I needed to work with you and Piper – we have to work together to keep that woman from fully waking. And to do that, we need to "keep believing" – to never stop believing.'

Annabeth couldn't help it; she just had to ask, 'Believing in _what_?'

Percy shrugged. 'That's all they told me. The last words that echoed throughout that place before I woke up to my alarm – they were all fading into the sudden blinding light all around me by then – were: "Stay innocent. Keep believing." And that was just it.'

Annabeth thought for a moment before asking, 'Any reason why you decided to _not _dismiss this as just another dream?'

'Good question,' said Percy. 'I knew you were going to ask me that. The thing is, I was about to dismiss it as "just another dream" even though something at the back of my mind told me it meant something – and then I realised I was clutching this.' Percy took out a yellow piece of parchment paper from his jacket pocket. On it, written in brown ink, was what Annabeth assumed was ancient Greek.

'What's that mean?' asked Annabeth. 'Stay innocent, keep believing?'

In that instant, the words appeared to shift before her very eyes, and she managed to understand them. '_Tomorrow we believe, but not today_,' she whispered to herself, and then, realising what she'd done, let out a piercing scream.

'Oh my god, did I just translate that? It's all literally Greek to me!' she panted, breathless.

Piper nodded, somewhat pale. 'But shouldn't it be translating to something like "today you believe, and don't stop believing"? Or those last words of the dream?' she asked.

Annabeth shrugged. 'There must be some meaning behind it,' she said thoughtfully.

'But what does it all mean?' wondered Percy.

'It means you need to prove yourself before _They_ believe you're up for the task ahead,' said a fourth voice from the doorway.

The three friends jumped at the voice, and simultaneously turned to look at the newcomer. Silhouetted against the sunlight flooding into the dark room was a tall, handsome young man of about eighteen. His short-cropped hair was sandy blonde, and he had blue eyes, an athletic and muscular build, and a sneaky look, and was very good-looking. All three children recognised him immediately.

'Luke Castellan,' whispered Annabeth. 'When did he get there?'

'Your screaming was hard to miss,' smirked Luke. 'My classroom's right next door, remember?'

'Woah, you heard me?' Annabeth asked in disbelief, clearly embarrassed.

Luke nodded. 'I'd like to make this quick and tell you guys everything, but the powers above me made me swear to let you guys "have some fun" figuring all this out by yourselves to prove Fate didn't pick the wrong heroes.'

'What are you talking about?' asked Percy.

'Your dream, Jackson,' Luke answered. 'All four of us are meant to have that sort of dream on our eleventh birthday. I had mine seven years ago, and they told me I had to work with all three of you. So – Annabeth's up next.'

'And you've "proven yourself" to these people already?' asked Piper.

'They take it I have,' shrugged Luke.

'But what was with the ancient Greek words turning to English?' asked Annabeth.

'What ancient Greek?' asked Luke, confused and suddenly losing his cool air.

Annabeth told him about the way she saw the Greek letters shift before her very eyes, and suddenly appear to have become English.

'Oh, that's just a special ability we have,' laughed Luke, in a tone like he was discussing the weather, 'along with our ADHD and dyslexia. But that's all I'm allowed to tell you, or I'd probably get struck by lightning, drowned, turned into a dolphin, turned into a Jackalope... things like that.'

'You're kidding, right?' asked Piper.

Luke shook his head, the twinkle momentarily gone from his eyes. 'I wish I was,' he muttered. 'I just wish they'd give me more guidance – be more interactive – I haven't heard from them since I'd proven myself.'

'How do we prove ourselves?' pleaded Piper.

'Find out who they are, and find out whom that sleeping woman is,' answered Luke, turning on his heel out of the classroom.

'That's it?' asked Annabeth in disbelief.

Luke gave a slight nod in reply and walked off without looking back once.

'I don't like his cocky high-and-mighty attitude,' Percy decided.

'You're just jealous he's more well-built than you,' Annabeth teased.

'Not funny, Wise Girl,' Percy spat. 'Anyway, I _don't _look forward to working with him and those chiton-wearing giants.'

'He – he just – he just solved half the mystery for us!' Annabeth gasped in realisation.

'What?' asked Piper. 'How?'

'By talking about getting struck by lighting and all that – it's what the gods in myths do! The giants were the Greek gods! The two bright giants – they're Apollo and Artemis! It all makes sense now!' Annabeth gasped, talking at machine-gun speed.

'But we _still _don't know who that sleeping woman is,' said Percy.

'_You_ don't, but _I _do,' said Annabeth. 'The dirt would mean earth – so it's Gaia, AKA Mother Earth!'

'That doesn't make sense, Wise Girl,' protested Percy. 'How could Mother Earth be the bad guy?'

'I haven't figured that part out yet,' Annabeth admitted. 'But we can speculate later. We've got the facts now!'

'What facts?' demanded Percy, bringing his fist down on a nearby desk. 'The Greek gods don't exist! All those myths are just to explain what couldn't be explained back then! _You're_ the smart kid, why can't you use your logic _now_?'

'Because,' Annabeth answered slowly, her voice low, 'I _believe_.'


	3. Chapter 2

Annabeth was in the ninth grade classroom, diligently making her own summary notes for Biology. Her shoulder-length hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her textbook was open in front of her, propped against her vacuum flask. Her dyslexia made it necessary for her to spend extra time studying if she wanted to maintain her good grades, especially in History. She was playing rock music on her iPod, one leg shaking slightly to the beat as she did her work.

Luke was in the school fencing room, all alone. He was now a gym teacher at his alma mater. He hadn't been there long, but he already had a fan club of girl students who would follow him wherever he went. If he had to hear their high-pitched squeals or see them swooning over how good he was at sword-fighting, he'd lose his head. He'd be as insane as his mother May Castellan. His sandy hair was damp with sweat, and his suit was sticking to his body, but he didn't care. Besides, fencing was the closest he could get to the art of real sword fights.

Piper was in the canteen, chatting away intimately with Jason. Jason had first joined her class in the eighth grade, and he and Piper had clicked instantly. Not too long ago, they had become more than just friends. He was very handsome, with tidily cropped golden blonde hair, bright sky blue eyes, and a scar on his lip. He was about Percy's height, with an athletic build and muscular tanned arms. When not in the company of Piper or any of his friends, he'd be in his own world, blasting music on his headphones.

Percy was increasingly spending less and less time in the Mythology section of the library. It frustrated him seeing how the other three had given up so fast – all right, so perhaps Luke had reason. He, Luke, had waited seven years longer than the younger three for a sign – any sign – but the deities held their peace. He remembered how he had reacted to Annabeth's decision to stop 'clinging onto false hopes' of an adventurous life – until he told himself that this was the same girl whose parents couldn't even convince to believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. In retrospect, it _had _been quite a shock when she'd told him that they should try to solve the Gaia mystery – that she 'believed'.

Adolescence and time had taken their toll – in varying degrees – on the four youths that the Roman deities had so depended on. Luke, Annabeth and Piper had all decided to 'grow up', and Percy was on the verge of doing the same. And yet – there was something stopping him from joining them. For reasons he couldn't fathom, he was unwilling to stop believing. But he didn't know how long these childish hopes could keep up – he was already going-on-fifteen. There was no point in going around telling your friends you believed the Greek gods were alive and kicking, as real as humans themselves.

When Percy entered the library after school hours one evening, he spotted Annabeth reading _Peter Pan_. Although he was certain he would get yelled at for interrupting her while she was in the middle of reading a book, he decided that the book would help him start the conversation. Taking a few quiet, tentative steps towards his friend, Percy cleared his throat to let Annabeth know she had company. She simply looked up from her book, nodded at him in acknowledgement, and went back to her book.

'That's a really good book, isn't it?' Percy began lamely.

Annabeth nodded without saying anything.

'The whole making growing up seem like almost a bad thing – really ingenious,' he continued.

'Have you read the book, or did you just Google all that?' Annabeth grumbled impatiently.

'All right, _fine_, I don't even like reading,' Percy admitted, throwing his hands up in surrender. 'I wanted to talk to you about – Gaia.'

That one word did it; Annabeth's eyes widened and she closed her book after taking note of which page she was on. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before looking Percy in the eye and asking, 'What about Gaia?'

'We – we need to get the team together,' answered Percy, determined not to let Annabeth unnerve him with those cold eyes.

'Forget the book I'm reading, you've got to grow up!' Annabeth whispered fiercely, her voice shaking.

'Have you forgotten the fact that _you _were the one who decided you "believed"? What happened since then? You were the one most enthusiastic – almost infatuated – with the idea of the gods being more than just myths.'

'Key word: "infatuated". It never lasted, Jackson,' retorted Annabeth, but Percy noticed an edge in her voice. Was that a hint of longing he picked up? 'I was eleven, what could I do? I wanted something – different. I wanted a more interesting, a more colourful life than the one I was living. Even now, my life is much more interesting _in my head_.'

'You _want _the gods to be real, don't you?' pleaded Percy. 'You want to keep believing.'

'Oh, grow up, Percy Jackson!' Annabeth said shrilly, slamming her book on the tabletop. Unfortunately, the ruckus she caused got both Percy and herself driven out of the library. To add salt to the injury, Annabeth found herself banned from the library for a month.

Frustrated, she roughly grabbed Percy by the collar and growled, 'You just _had _to bring up the topic in the library!'

'Whoa, Chase, did he dog-ear a page from one of your books?' laughed Luke, stepping out of the library.

'He brought up the deities,' Annabeth seethed.

Something in Luke's expression changed: the twinkle in his eyes was gone, and he scowled. He no longer looked so handsome.

'What did you bring _them _up for?' Luke demanded.

'Because – I…' Percy couldn't think of a reply. Why _did _he bring up the topic? He knew it agitated his friends to even think about the matter that had so tantalized them all years ago. Did they feel indignant that they had been made to believe they had a higher calling?

'We're fifteen now, Perce,' Annabeth murmured. 'It's time to let go. It isn't happening. There are no gods, and it's about time we all stopped believing.'

'But that's exactly it,' said Percy, his voice strained with desperation. 'I need – I need something to hold on to. I can't bear to – let it all go. I miss being a child, how everything was so simple. I want to go back to that. I want that innocence again. I _want _to keep believing.'

'It'll be a lot less painful if you'd just let go,' Luke said severely. 'I've been past that stage. You're the only who hasn't gone past that state of letting go of those – delusions.'

Annabeth nodded in agreement. 'It's time to let go,' she said, as if talking to a little child. 'Grow up.'

'But – I don't _want _to grow up,' Percy declared, sounding childish even to himself.

Even then, as Percy climbed into bed late that night, he wondered if it was about time he gave up those juvenile hopes. Like Annabeth had said, he was fifteen. It would be absolutely embarrassing if anyone outside their circle of four found out that he still believed in the existence of the mythological gods. Perhaps, it was time he let go as well…

#######

A/N: Hey guys, thanks for being patient with me - I know I've been taking millennia to update. Anyway, I'm going to have to hold back any further updates until the end of November, because I've got my national exams coming up. I promise I'll update a LOT after that! I'd also like to thank you guys for following my story til now!


End file.
